


Jealousy or Anxiety

by OmnipresentNuance



Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: Anxiety, College, Dreams, Driving Ambition, Gen, Golf, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 07:35:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23467720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmnipresentNuance/pseuds/OmnipresentNuance
Summary: Lori and Lincoln get into a brief tiff after Lincoln appears to have unexpected issues with Lori’s relationship with Bobby. However, whatever those issues are perhaps could instead be hiding a much simpler worry Lincoln has with regards to his older sister’s future, plus something else that’s very concerning to him.
Kudos: 3





	Jealousy or Anxiety

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there again! Yes, another case of me engaging in a dual posting, you lucky, lucky readers...which is something I think is often well deserved.
> 
> Now, some of you may look at the summary and think "hey, wait a sec, didn't you sort of already cover something like this in 'Sibling Dereliction'?" Well, it's actually not really the same and that portion is far from the key plot point in this one. Plus, I've actually had the idea for this and even did a decent amount of work on it a good deal before "Sibling Dereliction" even passed into my mind. So there you go.
> 
> With that being said, sit back and enjoy!
> 
> The Loud House is the exclusive property of Nickelodeon and Viacom. The usage of the setting, characters and such is based on nothing more than a pure affinity for everything and is not being used for monetary purposes.

It was another fine late afternoon over at the Loud house, with everyone having just returned from one of their most thrilling outings in recent memory.

That outing in question was a golf tournament that Lori had participated in. Early on, she had been dead last in the standings thanks in due part to various nerves and tensions within that struck her and affected her otherwise ordinarily adept style of play. Things had gotten so bad in her mind that she assumed that her whole life's ambitions and future would be shot if she lost. But after a quick pep talk from her parents, plus a little side encouragement from Lincoln, Lori would rally herself into an incredible come from behind stride that ultimately lead to victory. Her performance was so salient that it managed to impress Coach Niblick, the head of the golf program for Fairway University, the college Lori was hoping to enroll in, to officially offer her a position on the college's golf team. It appeared that in spite of her initial worries, Lori's future was all but secure.

Speaking of her future, aside from her academics and potential golf career, there was the matter of another important aspect for Lori. In this case, it was her boyfriend, Bobby. At the moment, she was in the middle of a lengthy phone conversation with him as she was laid out on the couch in the living room. Their conversation had been so drawn out ever since she got home that she had yet to change out of her golfing uniform because of it. Their marathon chit-chat largely consisted of Lori gushing on about her marvelous triumph at the golf course and their own prospective future together. However, there was one thing that Bobby mentioned which made Lori react positively elated.

"Oh, Bobby, that is wonderful news!" She shouted delightfully, "I literally cannot wait until next week!"

Her jovial outburst had caught the attention of Lincoln, who happened to be passing on by as she said that. Curiosity was getting to him about what his oldest sister could be so happy about, so he waited until she wrapped up talking to Bobby to find out. After exchanging a series of prolonged goodbyes and well wishes, Lori hung up and allowed Lincoln his chance to come forward.

"Hey, Lori, what's gotten you so happy?" He curiously asked.

Lori turned to Lincoln with a beaming smile, "Oh, hey there, Lincoln. Bobby just told me that he's coming over to visit next week. But get this: he going to be here for one whole week when he does come! Normally when he visits ever since he moved away it's only like for a couple of days, but now for a whole week?! Oh, that'll give us plenty of time to catch up and do so much together!"

After explaining things, Lori sighed dreamily, thinking of all the activities she and Bobby could do in that period of time together. By contrast, Lincoln's reaction was much more subdued, if not outright deflated.

"Oh, gee...uh, that's sound...great?" He said hesitantly.

Confused by her little brother's puzzling response, Lori sat up from the couch and raised an eyebrow.

"You feeling okay, Lincoln?" She asked with a touch of concern.

"Oh, sure, no problem, Lori." Lincoln replied, flashing what could be seen as a forced smiled, "Though..."

Lori turned her head to the side curiously, "Though what?"

"Well...uh, uh...um..." Lincoln stammered, nervously darting his eyes around.

"Lincoln, whatever it is, just say it already." Lori said, getting just slightly impatient.

Lincoln groaned uneasily, but decided to spill out what he was holding back, though he felt like Lori was not going to like what she was about to hear.

"Okay, fine. It's just that now knowing Bobby is going to be coming over soon for 'one whole week', as you've just so said spiritedly, it looks like we're in store for yet another period of time gushing over ever little thing about him and what you'll being doing in that time, like me or anybody else needs to hear that." He stated, with that latter portion being said more under his breath, though just enough so that Lori could audibly catch it.

"What? Lincoln, where is this coming from?" She questioned, "You've never acted like this over Bobby before. What gives?"

"Pssh, like I bet you really care." Lincoln responded, now acting more petulantly, "'Cause for those that entire week, it's all gonna be 'Bobby this, Bobby that'. His world is your oyster and that's all that will matter to you in that time. Kind of nauseating if you ask me. Who's gonna want to hear all that?"

Thanks to that little quip, Lori's demeanor instantly switched for being mildly concerned to much more irritated.

"Hey, I'm not going to sit here and let you degrade my relationship with Bobby like that! It's not my fault we're meant for each other and that you, and apparently anyone else in our family doesn't understand that! And you, the boy who screwed up with Ronnie Anne how many times now is going to have the gall to tell me off about my relationship?! You know, I should-"

"Oh, forget about it!" Lincoln shouted, cutting off Lori's rant, "I knew this is exactly how you'd react! You're simply too overly defensive of Bobby and thus can't stand anyone daring to raise any concerns about him or your relationship with him. So just forget I asked and I'll return you to pushing us aside whenever he's around!"

Groaning again, Lincoln stomped angrily away and up the stairs, slamming his bedroom door shut the moment he went inside. Meanwhile, Lori growled derisively as she flopped down back first on the couch again.

"The nerve of him!" She grumbled to herself, "So what if sometimes I push my family aside for Bobby's sake? They're the ones who get in my way, not him!"

She yanked her phone out again and began aimlessly futzing around with it in frustration as Lincoln's coarse words kept running through her mind, which didn't really help in her mood.

However, in the moments that passed, Lori's attitude slowly changed to be more softened. She sighed in a controlled manner, allowing the pent up tension that had risen inside not too long ago to be released. She hated to admit it, but her little brother was probably on to something about her being too defensive over Bobby. Also, that one line he said about her pushing her family aside did gnaw at her more than it should.

Releasing another sign, Lori sat up from the couch and figured she knew what had to come next. Call it her big sister intuition, but now she can't help but think there had to be more to her little brother's frustrations than just simply Bobby. Like she had said moments earlier, Lincoln has never expressed such ire over her and Bobby's relationship before and that maybe there's something else that's really concerning him, and she owed it to herself, and certainly him, to see if she could find out what.

Lori put her phone away and then stood up to make a journey up to Lincoln's room. As she made it to the top of the stairs, she happened upon Luna, Lynn and Lola, the three sisters who coincidentally were the ones who helped her out with her various nerves and yips prior to the tournament. At the moment, they were huddled together looking at something through Luna's phone until Lori's arrival caught their attention.

"Well, there's our golf champion right now!" Lola shouted proudly.

"Uh, what are you guys doing?" Lori asked.

"Just watching some highlights of you tearing it up today at the course, brah." Luna answered as she held out her phone to Lori.

"Yeah, including that awesome shot over at the 10th hole." Lynn added, "You gotta come over and check these out! Talk about an amazing comeback you made today!"

Lori shook her head, "I can't right now, because I need to have a talk with Lincoln."

"Oh, well good luck with that." Lola said, folding her arms, "He seems to be in a mood after all that shouting we heard him doing. He even blew right past us without even so much as a 'hello'. That's a little rude if you ask me."

"To be fair, though, it did look like something may have been bothering him." Lynn noted.

"I'd say that's the case." Luna agreed with a nod of her head, "In fact, just as you were coming on up, Lori, I was tempted to go over and check up on our bro just in case."

"Well, I'm about to do that myself, so you can worry yourself not." Lori said, turning toward the direction of Lincoln's room.

"You sure there's nothing we can do, sis?" Luna asked.

Lori looked over her shoulder and grinned slightly, "I appreciate the concern, Luna, but I think this is something that Lincoln needs to have a serious heart-to-heart with just only me."

With those assurances from their oldest sister, Luna, Lynn and Lola left in favor of going downstairs, likely so that won't eavesdrop, as Lori stood just in front of the door leading to Lincoln's room. She put her hand up and knocked a couple of times.

"Lincoln? Can I come in?" Lori asked, "I'd like to talk to you."

She didn't hear a response, so she tried knocking again without speaking, but still nothing. Sighing, she instead chose to head on in anyway.

"Lincoln, I really need to discuss things with you, so I'm coming in whether you want me to or not."

Having her intentions declared, Lori grabbed the doorknob, turned it and let herself inside before shutting the door behind her. As she surveyed the room, she didn't see Lincoln in person right away, but had her suspicions as to where he was.

A round form could be seen right under the blankets laid out over the bed. Frowning over this discovery, Lori reached out and pulled the covers off gently to see Lincoln facing away from her all scrunched up while laying on his side.

"Lincoln?" She asked once more.

"What do you want, Lori?" He grumbled with a hint of sorrow.

"I just wanted to talk things over with you if that's okay." She replied.

Lori got onto Lincoln's bed and took a seat right next to him. He still laid down in the manner that she had discovered him in even well after she sat down near him. Nevertheless, she wanted to push onward in talking to him.

"I get the feeling you don't want to talk right now, Lincoln, but I think it's important we do anyway, so if you'll indulge me for a moment, I'll start things off..."

She placed a hand on her brother's shoulder and squeezed it affectionately.

"I have to admit, you might've had a point about me and Bobby." Lori said, "I may have not liked the way you went about it, but perhaps I do get a little too defensive over him and I may get hasty in putting our family by the wayside whenever he's brought up."

She kept looking on at Lincoln, still seemingly refusing to get up or even so much as face her. Sighing, Lori felt obligated in seeking out if there was something more that was troubling him.

"But right now, that's beside the point, because I feel like there's something beyond that which is really bothering you and I'd really like to find out if you'll let me."

Following some internal deliberation, Lincoln finally sat up and turned to face Lori, though he still scrunched himself up like a ball.

"Well, maybe I should clarify something about you and Bobby first..." He said softy.

Lori turned her head curiously, then she leaned in further, wanting to hear what her brother was going to say.

"I think I'm willing to admit that sometimes I get a little bit jealous about how much time you've spent with him, including whatever time you and him get since he's moved away." Lincoln said, his face creasing in slight embarrassment.

Lori's eyes got a little wider, thinking she may know what he was potentially getting at.

"Oh, do you mean that you wished you could be able to hang out with him again like you used to?" She wondered, "Because if that's the case, I can literally be able to arrange some time so that can happen for you when he comes over and I bet he'd love to do that, too."

Lincoln shook his head, "No, that's not what I meant..."

He shifted his positioning somewhat away from Lori upon saying that.

"Well, what did you mean?" Lori asked.

She got no response from him.

"Come on, Lincoln, can't you tell me what's wrong?" She asked again.

Lincoln looked over his shoulder, "Why do you suddenly even care anyway, Lori? You clearly didn't when I brought it up not too long ago."

"Well, it's like I said, I didn't really like the way you said it at the time." Lori admitted with a sigh.

She moved a little bit closer to Lincoln and put her hand of his shoulder again.

"But I'm not going to dwell on that further. I get the sense that something beyond me and Bobby is very much upsetting you and I really care about finding out."

"No you don't." Lincoln muttered.

"What? Yes I do." Lori said slightly confused.

"You don't care about that...or me for that matter."

That response blindsided Lori completely.

"Lincoln, of course I care about you! How can you even-"

"Give me a break, Lori!" Lincoln stated resentfully, "In about under a year's time, you'll be leaving home and have everything you want: college, your golf career and Bobby. Oh, we certainly can't forget about Bobby! Your life will be all peaches and cream and by then you'll have completely forgotten about everyone back at home...including me."

Following his emotional rant, Lincoln completely turned away from Lori, partially out of spite, but more so out of guilt. He felt an immediate sense of regret having gone off on her like that and couldn't bear to look straight at her.

For her part, Lori felt like she was at a loss.

"Hold on...forget all about you?" She said, still trying to process everything, "Is that what's really been bothering you?"

An uncomfortable few seconds were drawn out before Lincoln could respond, though he refused to look back over at Lori.

"Okay...yeah, I admit it." He said in a strained voice, "I mean, sure, you going on and on about Bobby has also gotten more annoying even after he moved away, but I should be used to it by now, since after all you do love him more than anyone else here at home, including me..."

The hits kept on coming for Lori. She had no clue where he got that idea from. She was hating the fact that Lincoln kept on with this sudden suggestion that he wasn't cared for by her and wanted to rectify that posthaste.

She came over to Lincoln just that little bit closer and put her arms around him from behind.

"Lincoln, can you please stop saying stuff like that? You have to know that's literally not true at all." Lori pleaded with him, "Yes, I do love Bobby, but that does not mean I love you or anyone else in our family any less. I'm stunned you seem to think otherwise and honestly, you should know better by now."

Though Lincoln still wasn't facing his sister, his face scrunched up in regret further.

Lori sighed, then she continued speaking, "More to the point, I'm also frankly kind of hurt that you seem to be implying, or really straight up saying, that I'm looking forward to leaving home and forgetting about everyone..."

Then came a sound that totally broke Lincoln's heart.

He picked up the audible utterance of sniffling and very light sobbing from Lori.

He looked back around and one glance at her face confirmed it. Her eyes started watering up and some tears were escaping downward to her cheeks. This wasn't the reaction of someone with whom he assumed would be thrilled about getting away from her family and living out her life.

"I'm sorry, Lincoln...but this is going to such a hard decision for me and I'd hate to really think you don't understand that..." Lori said through tears.

If Lincoln hadn't already felt positively wrought in guilt, this sealed it.

He shifted around so that he was completely facing Lori once again. He got a full look at her saddened face and that was enough for him to begin tearing up himself. Soon after, he too started to sob.

"Lori...I...I..." He tried saying.

He couldn't get the words out as his sobbing got more persistent.

Following a long, shuddered sigh, Lori wiped her eyes and looked down at her distressed brother. She was feeling about as sad as he was, but right now she wanted to put her worries aside for the time being, because she knew that he needed her at this moment.

She extended her arms out again and brought Lincoln close to her, hugging him tightly as he cried into her chest.

"L-Lori, I'm so s-sorry..." He choked out, "H-h-how could I-I possibly s-say those things a-a-about you?"

"It's okay, Lincoln." Lori said softly.

"No it isn't! I..."

"Shh...don't worry about it right now. Let it out and then we'll talk some more."

And that is exactly what happened. For the next few minutes, Lincoln allowed things to pour on out while Lori consoled him. What had initially seemed like him only having unexpected concerns about her relationship with Bobby appeared to instead be a cover for a simpler anxiety of Lincoln missing his oldest sister terribly when she does inventively make her move in life. Where exactly he had gotten the impression that she was looking forward to leaving everyone behind was the pertinent question that would come next.

Once she felt like Lincoln had calmed down enough, Lori pulled him away from her so he could adequately look up at her.

"Feel more willing and comfortable to talk now?" She asked him.

Lincoln sniffled a few times and then eventually nodded his head in the affirmative.

Smiling lightly, Lori helped in brushing off any leftover tears off her brother's face, then she adjusted the positioning of both herself and Lincoln so that they were leaning against the wall and sitting next to one another.

"Now, first off, I want to ask you one more thing about Bobby before we get to the real issue at hand." Lori said, "Specifically, has my act of going on endlessly about him been upsetting you for a while now, even before he moved away like you suggested?"

Again, without saying any words, Lincoln nodded.

"And why is that?" Lori questioned.

Lincoln took a shaky deep breath before he could gather the strength to speak.

"Well...I guess aside from my now totally mistaken belief that you cared about him more than me and our family, it's sort of like what I said earlier about how you're so quick to put his needs above anyone else the second he enters the picture." He said.

He looked up over to face Lori.

"Can I give you an example?"

"Of course." She responded.

"You know when we thought that we accidentally got Dad fired from his IT job and tried to find him a new job?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, right when we did those mock job interviews to find out who'd impersonate him the best, I remember you trying your hand at it, and then right in the middle of things Bobby called in and like that, you got all huffy at us and demanded some privacy. It's like for that moment, our dad's job status didn't matter at all to you compared to some insignificant gossip Bobby was bringing up."

"Yeah, I'll concede that seemed like the case." Lori admitted, "But that was only one phone call. The minute I was done, I went right back with you and everyone else to do whatever it took to help out in getting Dad a new job, because that was a very important thing for us to do."

Lincoln frowned and looked down, "You're right. That was a very bad example to use. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry, Lincoln." Lori said assuredly, "If something like that really was bothering you, I'm glad you are bringing it up. It's better to get it out in the open rather than keeping it all bottled up."

She put an arm around Lincoln and brought him a little closer to her.

"Now, anyway, we really need to get to the more pressing issue at hand, which is I'd like to know where in the world you got this impression that I'm actually looking forward to leaving home and forgetting all about everyone like you suggested." She said, looking to alleviate such concerns.

Taking a deep breath, Lincoln was getting ready to have this most difficult of conversations with his oldest sister, hoping to reach a satisfactory resolution by the end.

"Well...I mean, it's not like I'm creating that perception out of thin air." He said, "I remember when you moved to the garage that one time. You looked like then you were thrilled about getting away from us."

Lori sighed, but then slightly grinned, "Yeah, but you appear to be leaving out one important fact, which is that I barely lasted one whole day with that arrangement without missing you guys so badly, and I was only twenty feet away from home in that instance. Now just imagine how much worse I'd feel knowing that I'll literally be three hours away from home."

Once more, Lincoln felt terrible about dredging up another example that failed to prove either of his earlier claims about Lori caring about Bobby more than anyone or that she's eager to leave home. Because of it, he whimpered quietly and looked to be on the verge of crying again.

"I'm sorry, Lori. You're right again. I was so wrong about you..." He said, full of regret, "Truthfully, when I heard you talking with Bobby earlier, I reacted and vented in the way I did because it made me realize with every passing day some point soon it'll be that you will be moving closer to him and how much I'm gonna miss you when you're gone."

He began sniffling again and soon enough, a couple more tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Not giving it even a second thought, Lori brought her little brother into another hug and simply held on to him without either of them speaking for another while.

"I'm going to miss you, too, Lincoln." Lori said, breaking the period of silence, "I'll miss everyone here when that day comes, but I'd be lying to myself if I didn't admit that between you and me, I'll miss you just that little bit more."

"Really?" Lincoln wondered, lifting up his head to face her again, "But why?"

"Well, for starters, you are my only brother and I've always felt that meant we've had some kind of special connection." Lori explained, right as she tightened her embrace of him for just a moment.

"We do? Even if I've done things like briefly wrecking things between you and Bobby when I said that insulting stuff about Ronnie Anne? Or when I left that voicemail and wrote that letter calling you the 'worst sister ever'?" He questioned.

Lori pulled back and smiled, "Of course, little brother. Nothing can possibly be enough to truly stop me from caring about you. You are among the most valuable people in my life and the day you were brought into my world is and always will be one of the best within it. That will never change and no matter if we're three hours apart or three inches apart, I'll always love you, Lincoln."

The idea of her leaving somewhere down the line still made him very uneasy, but Lincoln did feel just even the slightest bit better as he snuggled closer over to Lori. She held him once more, though she did take a moment in taking off her visor and undid the ponytail her hair had been done up in.

"And hears another thing, Lincoln. Even after I leave, we can obviously still keep in constant contact through talking on the phone or through video chats as well." Lori reminded him.

"I guess so..." Lincoln said, still having some sadness in his voice, "But it just won't feel the same without you being here in person, though."

Lori sighed, "I know, it sounds so hard for you to deal with that and same goes for me as well without you being around, too. But I can also promise you this. Whatever extended amount of free time I can get away from college work, Bobby, golfing and literally whatever else is there, I will do everything in my power to come visit you and everyone else as often as I can, just as I hope you'll do the same for me, too."

"Of course I will." Lincoln promised back, a tiny smile arriving, "And this is going to be another reason why I'll miss you. I love having these talks with you about...well, just about anything, and you're usually the first one I come to for more serious subjects like girls or whatever else. Who else would I turn to once you're gone?"

"Well, there's obviously Mom and Dad." Lori suggested.

Lincoln chuckled a little clumsily, "Yeah, but honestly, there's stuff I always prefer talking to my sisters than with them. There is a reason why we have that secrets telling club after all."

"That's true, but I do believe that reason is because almost all those secrets are literally of something dumb we've done to that belonged to them." Lori mentioned.

That little reminder caused both of the share some laughter and again, it did help in Lincoln's mood getting better little by little.

"But anyway..." Lori spoke again as the laughter subsided, "If Mom and Dad aren't the ones you're most comfortable talking about certain things, then I know that Leni, Luna, Luan and even Lynn can do the trick, and that's something else worth mentioning. If another reason why you're anxious about me eventually leaving is because you feel like you've lost someone you can turn to for advice, comfort or generally someone to be there for you, let me remind you that you'll still have four incredibly loving and caring big sisters who I guarantee you they'll put any time of their own for you, because just like me, they love you very dearly."

Once again, such words were making Lincoln feel even more better.

"Yeah, that's true." He said.

Lori grinned as she briefly hugged him once more.

However…

"Well...maybe that's true."

She found that to be concerning choice of words from her brother.

"I mean, I hope you're right..."

And neither were those any better.

"But...what if that's not the case?"

Now Lori was getting pretty worried.

"What are you talking about, Lincoln?" She asked.

Instead of responding, Lincoln moved away from Lori and like earlier, he turned himself away from her.

"I shouldn't have said anything…." He said.

Clearly knowing something else was up, Lori shifted closer to him.

"Lincoln...what's wrong? Is there something else that's bothering you?" She asked again.

Lincoln sighed, "Maybe...but it's so stupid and there's no reason why it should be bothersome."

Lori sighed and put both her hands on his shoulders, "Lincoln, if something's bothering you, then it obviously can't be stupid. Besides, you just admitted literally a minute ago that you love turning to me whenever there's something worth talking about. So come on, please tell me what it is."

With that being true, Lincoln felt like he had no way of backing out now. He still believed whatever got his sister so concerned for him was very dumb and unrealistic, but at least discussing it might help in calming his nerves over the subject he was about to bring up.

Sighing, he turned back over to face Lori.

"Okay...this came back to my mind when you mentioned that Leni, Luna, Luan and Lynn will still be around after you move out." Lincoln began explaining.

He took another deep breath before divulging further.

"Well...I had this dream when I woke up one morning, and just as a reference before I go further, it took place at some point after you moved out. So I got up and went downstairs where I saw Mom, Dad and all my younger sisters together having breakfast, but I wondered where my four remaining older sisters were, all they said at first was they were all gone."

"Gone?" Lori questioned worriedly, "What do you mean they were gone?"

Lincoln groaned nervously before continuing, "Well, after I asked everyone again, it was explained to me they all left to pursue their interests as it was put simply. What happened is that Leni was working for a major fashion line out of state, Luna and her band had gotten signed to some big time record deal and were now touring all around the country, Luan joined a traveling comedy club and Lynn had become such a soccer prodigy that she joined a minor league soccer team and also relocated out of state."

A period of very deathly silence lasted for several seconds when after Lincoln said all of that. Lori wished to say something herself, but assumed he had more to say and waited until then.

"And here's the part that genuinely scared me, Lori. Apparently, I was never made aware beforehand they had such plans of leaving and all day long during that dream, my younger sisters kept coming up to me for help or advice, but I was so overwhelmed and thrown off by my older sisters being gone wishing that they were still around to help me that I couldn't take it anymore. I locked myself in my room and started crying...and that's how the dream ended."

As if those last few words were a precursor, Lincoln did feel some tears again forming in his eyes and he started sniffling.

"Well, uh..." Lori uttered, struggling at first over what to say, "Was this something you experienced last night?"

"No..." Lincoln responded, "I've actually been having this dream for like the last few days since the lead up to your big golf tournament today. Before you ask, I didn't say anything about it because I hoped it would be a one off, but it just kept on occurring night after night. Then as we were getting deeper into our talk...and how you said that the four of them will still be around after you're gone…"

The dam broke within Lincoln and he delved into more sobbing once more. Instinctively, Lori wasted no time in bringing him back into another embrace. She felt so troubled about learning about him suffering through such a heartrending reoccurring dream. She had to theorize that if there was any generalized theme, it had to be about Lincoln's anxieties about not just her leaving, but eventually when all his other older sisters do the same, albeit one by one each succeeding year as opposed to all at once like in the dream. In addition, he also implied he feared he'll be overwhelmed by the needs of his younger sisters especially once he is officially the oldest sibling in the house.

"I'm so sorry, Lori..." Lincoln said once he finally began getting calmer, "I told you this was gonna be so stupid. What a big baby I've become from something as simple as a dream getting to me..."

After holding him for another minute, Lori pulled away and bore a look on her face directed at Lincoln that combined compassion and seriousness.

"Lincoln, there's literally nothing wrong at all with feeling sad about when the time comes that any loved ones of yours will eventually leave home. Do you understand? _Nothing._ It's perfectly natural to feel that way." She said, "And as heartbreaking and sad as that dream sounds, and I almost felt like crying with you for a moment, it is ultimately a dream and it bears no resemblance to what will happen in real life. If I chose to talk with each of your older sisters about if they plan to just get up and leave all at once like that, they will categorically say that will _never_ happen. They'll eventually leave one by one the same way I will someday by graduating high school and then going on from there."

Lincoln gave his oldest sister's words some thought, and after some shaky breaths and wiping down his eyes, he tried his best in smiling.

"Yeah, I think you're right, Lori, and I'm sorry again for making a such a big deal about it. I won't let something like that get to me so much again." He said, "And I shouldn't focus on when you or them leave and instead focus on the time we still all have together."

"That's the best to look at it I'd say, and don't worry about apologizing, Lincoln. Again, it's okay to feel such anxieties and to repeat, it won't happen all at once, that I can promise you." Lori assured him, "Anyway, with regards to me, I actually have an idea."

Lincoln turned his head to the side, "What do you mean, Lori?"

Lori put her hands on his shoulders again, "Since Bobby won't be coming over for another week, I was thinking we can use that time to go out and do some things just the two of us. We haven't really done a lot of that recently and I'd love to do so if it can help you feel better about everything."

"Wow, really? I'd love that, Lori." Lincoln said approvingly.

"Okay, well, if that's settled, I guess we'll have to work on what exactly we can do..." Lori said contemplatively.

"Hmm...well, I have an idea, and it's something we can do right now." Lincoln suggested.

Lori had a slightly uneasy look on her face, "Um...I don't think that can be possible, Lincoln. It is getting pretty late in the afternoon."

Lincoln grinned, "That's okay. I'm not talking about going out to do something...because we're already doing the one thing I want to do with you more than anything now."

With that, he emphatically hugged Lori and nestled his head right alongside her chest. Chuckling amusingly, she was more than happy to enclose her arms around him once again and held on firmly, plus a nice little kiss on the top of his head added in .

In the end, Lincoln was so glad to have this talk with his sister about everything. Though in hindsight he probably could've just brought these topics up with her without having the concerns about Bobby being brought up or used as a bit of cover, but it was nice to also get those talked over in any event. He truly held no malice toward him and whatever issues were positively minor compared to the understandable anxieties he had about the time when Lori or his other older sisters will end up leaving on their own. But as he also said, ultimately he shouldn't dwell on that too often and instead he shall continue to treasure every single second of time he has with them in terms of bonding and being there for him anytime he needs them, because that's what's most important now.

**Author's Note:**

> Another one down! I know the subject of Lincoln worrying about Lori leaving home someday has been covered a few times before, but I wanted to also explore the same theme with regards to his other older sisters, too, even if that's much further down the line and if it took a highly unrealistic and improbable dream to make him think about that. Yes, I'm sure we can all agree he understands it is just dream and shouldn't try in taking it too seriously, but nonetheless even the mere thought of having several of your loved ones just leaving like that without advance notice is pretty terrifying in any event, despite again the obvious improbability. Another theme I believe was being shown is that even though Lincoln is a very confident boy who can indeed handle himself, I think it's also quite realistic to say he still likes relying on, looking up to and otherwise having his older sisters being there for him as long as they'll be around and will gladly help in giving him that extra amount of confidence in the years to come until he effectively becomes the eldest remaining sibling in the house for his younger sisters.
> 
> Okay, thanks for the read as usual and see you soon again when the time comes!


End file.
